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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22692688">The Dover Fault</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigblueboxat221b/pseuds/bigblueboxat221b'>bigblueboxat221b</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Come From Away - Sankoff &amp; Hein</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Diane POV, F/M, In Gander, Soulmate-Identifying Marks</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 10:26:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,629</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22692688</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigblueboxat221b/pseuds/bigblueboxat221b</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Soulmarks are so rare they're practically fairytales, but Diane's arm is itchy and there's only one explanation...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nick/Diane</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Appearance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>It's Soulmate Week for my main ship, and having that idea in my head made this a foregone conclusion, really.<br/>Don't worry, there's another chapter on its way. &lt;3</p><p>Disclaimer: This is not RPF<br/>While Nick and Diane in the musical are based on real people, this story is set strictly in the fictional representation of them in the musical, ‘Come From Away’. I haven’t done any research into their personal lives, and anything further than what is canon in the musical is completely made up, with the exception of some geographical details. This is not intended to represent the real life couple in any way, their thoughts, attitudes or actions. It’s just my brain saying, ‘what if?’, as it does to every story that resonates with me.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Diane sighed, scratching absently at her arm. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept properly – it certainly wasn’t here on the plane – and she was practically delirious with fatigue. Apparently they’d be able to disembark soon, but as they had no idea where they might be going, that wasn’t entirely comforting. Besides, they’d been told the same thing several times already and she was learning to take those announcements with a grain of salt.</p><p>Her arm really was quite itchy. She frowned at it, looking closely at the small patch just above her elbow. It was red from her fingernails, of course, but otherwise she couldn’t see a bite or anything. Surely there hadn’t been bananas in anything she’d eaten? Besides, her symptoms were usually more systemic and this was an isolated patch…</p><p>
  <em>Just like a developing soulmark.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Oh.</em>
</p><p>She froze, staring at her inner arm, brain suddenly delivering what she remembered of the phenomenon.</p><p>
  <em>Rare.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Develops spontaneously in the presences of a soulmate. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Itches before resolving into a pattern or image.</em>
</p><p>She’d never even met someone who had experienced it. Most stories were practically fairytales they were so embellished, and yet there had been enough documented cases to cement the phenomenon as fact rather than fiction. Diane used to think of it like winning the lottery. She didn’t actually know anyone who had, but she knew it did happen.</p><p>And now it was happening to her.</p><p>She prodded at the patch, but nothing happened. The itch was coming back, and she gritted her teeth. No point exacerbating it. There was nothing for it but to wait, and considering she’d sat on this plane for so long, it could theoretically be almost anyone. People she’d been in closer contact with were more likely; that narrowed it down to three or four. She was hardly going to approach them with an itchy patch and a wildly unlikely story though, was she? Better to wait, see what happened while they were stuck here. It would develop, and she might have a clue to their identity, plus the evidence would make it easier.</p><p>Her soulmate’s mark would be developing now, too. The idea made her shiver – they were already sharing this intimacy, their bodies reacting to each other's presence before they even knew who they were. She wondered who it was. The man on the aisle seat didn’t appear to be scratching, and Diane reminded herself not to get too worried about it. From what she remembered, the pattern on her arm would match or compliment that of her soulmate.</p><p>
  <em>Her soulmate.</em>
</p><p>The phrase made her shiver. She had a soulmate. The idea was odd, after having resigned herself to ongoing solitude a number of years ago. Would her soulmate want to have some kind of relationship? Would she want to with them? It was funny to think there was someone on this plane that the universe believed she belonged with and she had no idea who it was. And from what she’d heard, when they recognised each other for what they were, the desire to remain together would be strong.</p><p>Resolutely, Diane pulled her fingers from the itchy patch on her arm. There was nothing to be done now. She should just focus on getting through this.</p><p>+++</p><p>Four days later, Diane stood at the Dover Fault, looking over the breathtaking view. She’d all but forgotten about the soulmark until that morning. The itching abated far sooner than she expected, and by the time they’d arrived at their shelter she was exhausted and desperate for information about her family and the world in general. In all the waiting and confusion and general kerfuffle, her itchy arm was pushed far down her list of Things On Which To Use Energy.</p><p>This morning, though – when they thought they might be going home – Diane had been able to change out of her borrowed clothes back into her own. They’d been carefully laundered and folded, placed back in the bag labelled with her name, and the care someone had taken made her smile. Such a small detail, but she was grateful.</p><p>As she removed the borrowed shirt, something caught her eye.</p><p>With a gasp, she realised it was her soulmark. She brought it close to her eyes, mouth dropping open in shock. All the information she knew about soulmarks came flooding back to her again.</p><p>
  <em>Takes weeks to fully develop.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Development accelerates if in close proximity to soulmate.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>More complex images generally denote a deeper connection.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Only a handful of cases featuring coloured designs.</em>
</p><p>Now, looking at the riot of colour contained in a circle maybe three inches across, Diane was speechless. Four days. Her mark had appeared and resolved fully formed in just four days and there was no mistaking the colours it comprised. She touched it experimentally, but it felt like regular skin. The swirls didn’t seem to make a picture; she thought it looked a bit like when they showed you what a telescope saw when it focused on another galaxy – blues and greys and black with a spattering of white. Beautiful in its own way. Well that was a relief. At least she wouldn’t have some strange design to try and hide.</p><p>And she could cover it, she thought as her own blouse and jacket settled over her skin. Because as much as she didn’t want to contemplate it right now, there was only one person she’d spent enough time with over the last four days to have had such an immediate effect on her soulmark.</p><p>Nick.</p><p>And if that was the case, he’d have his own mark, and he was no fool – Diane knew he’d figure out the same as she, that they’d spent almost every moment together to the exclusion of almost everyone else in the town. There really was no other alternative.</p><p>Their morning had passed easily enough, although Diane felt herself jumping at the slightest sound. She was hyper aware of Nick and couldn’t tell if his reaction was to her strange behaviour or his own awareness of the unsaid things between them. By the time they’d reached the Dover Fault Lookout, Nick having asked awkwardly if she’d mind him tagging along, the tension between them was palpable and Diane could barely handle it. Too many ‘what if…’ scenarios danced through her head and she was awash with all the ways it could go badly. There was no way she could start the conversation and so her mind was now focussed on convincing Nick telepathically that she was receptive to his admission.</p><p>
  <em>Please…</em>
</p><p>“Diane?” Nick asked, his voice coming from beside her.</p><p>“Yes,” she said blankly. “Yes?” she repeated, turning to him.</p><p>He looked so incredibly nervous that she knew he was going to do it before he even spoke.</p><p>
  <em>Please want me…</em>
</p><p>“Have you…I mean, on the plane, I realised,” he took a deep breath. “Look, I don’t know how much you’ve read or what people think about this in Dallas, but I don’t have any expectations. Or…anything. But we need to address it before we have to go.”</p><p>“Yes,” Diane said. He’d been vague, but she knew exactly what he was talking about, and from the look in his eyes, he could see her comprehension. “I notice the same thing. On the plane. It’s…happened fast. Faster than I’ve ever heard of.”</p><p>“Me too,” Nick admitted. “A little confronting, actually.”</p><p>“Yes,” Diane said emphatically, relieved he’d brought that up. “Is yours…I mean, mine’s…it’s coloured. Really coloured.”</p><p>“Mine too,” Nick whispered. He was holding her gaze, and the world receded as they finally shared this conversation.</p><p>“Do you want…I could show you?” Diane asked, and it felt as intimate as removing underwear. Generally speaking people didn’t share their soulmarks with anyone except their soulmate, not for a while; it had been said that the touch of your soulmate could change your mark. Diane had no idea if that was true, but she was curious to find out.</p><p>Nick nodded, and she noted with relief he started to unbutton one sleeve of his shirt. They were each exposing the same patch above their left elbow, and Diane looked up at Nick, suddenly shy.</p><p>“Here,” she said, thrusting her arm towards him. When he lowered his eyes, he gasped when they settled on her mark.</p><p>“Same,” he murmured, and even though Diane had expected it, seeing the same colours whirling across his skin sent a shiver down her spine. The design was a little different, and without thinking about it, she traced one finger over the colours marking his skin. At exactly the same moment, Nick did the same and she jumped at the tickle.</p><p>All her senses were overwhelmed at once.</p><p>Something burst through her, golden and warm and joyful, erupting from that point on her arm and rioting through her body. She could hear it, taste it, but her eyes were fixed on Nick’s arm. Her touch had sent the colours on his skin spinning, and when they stopped the arrangement was different but immediately recognisable.</p><p>“Nick?” she whispered, eyes still on his arm. “Did it…yours changed.”</p><p>“And yours,” Nick replied.</p><p>Diane pulled her eyes back and looked at her own arm, unsurprised that it was now identical to Nick’s.</p><p>The colours had resolved themselves into an image of water and distant hills, fog obscuring the details, the grey sky and muted blues an exact match for the view she’d had her eyes on only moments ago.</p><p>“The Dover Fault,” Diane whispered in astonishment.</p><p>“Yes,” Nick said, looking between the two images. “And did you feel…”</p><p>“Yes,” Diane said, knowing exactly what he meant.</p><p>His fingers tightened on hers.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Resolution</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They were still standing close when voices drifted up from the path leading to the lookout. Diane glanced over and the spell was broken, Nick’s fingers dropping from her skin as he stepped back. He was fumbling with his sleeve, rolling it back over his arm, and Diane hurried to do the same. The last thing she wanted to do was share this with a group of strangers. Especially when she and Nick hadn’t actually decided anything.</p><p>Without speaking they both turned to walk back down towards town, stepping aside for the group now appearing at the top of the path. The steps warranted concentration, though probably less than Diane gave them; it was a good excuse to avoid Nick’s eyes and any possible conversation. He didn’t try to say anything either, and by the time they’d made their way down all the steps the silence had stretched tight between them. Her heart was beating hard and she wished Nick would say something.</p><p>Diane had no idea where to start. Her mind whirled as they walked, and it didn’t stop as they continued through town back to the shelter. She had so many questions. Some were practical, others emotional or speculative, but they all had one thing in common. They were moot until she knew how Nick felt. There was no point discussing their future together unless Diane knew if he was willing to explore their connection. She didn’t remember what happened to couples who discovered their bond and decided not to follow some kind of life together. Was it possible they had no choice? Would it make them sick if Nick returned to London? It was a very long way from Dallas, after all. And soulmarks were supposed to indicate the person the universe believed you belonged with. Did free will even enter into it?</p><p>Diane sighed. All her angst could be resolved by asking Nick, of course, but glancing at him he looked at sombre as she. Was he wondering how to break the news to her? Her brain reminded her of Schrodinger’s cat and she found the analogy frustratingly accurate. The possibility of something good happening was preferable, even if it came with uncertainty. The idea of losing Nick broke her heart and she wasn’t sure how she’d deal with knowing he would rather return to London.</p><p>So she held her tongue as they waited at the shelter for the buses, as they sat for an eternity on the bus and endured the barely contained chaos in the airport. The hours plodded by, and though she and Nick remained together they barely spoke a word. There was a deep pull inside her directed towards Nick; it wasn’t unpleasant, pulsing gently, but as Diane paced up and down the hall, it eased and tightened with her distance from Nick. It was only now she realised it was probably part of their soulbond. It was a subtle change, and Diane reasoned that she wasn’t really moving all that far from him, but the question still rose in her mind.</p><p>
  <em>What would happen if there was an ocean between us?</em>
</p><p>The answers in her mind ranged between discomfort and incapacity. The idea of them living in the same city simply to appease a connection neither had asked for made her deeply sad. Nobody should have to maintain a relationship in which they were not interested. Diane slipped deeper into her misery until she could feel the tears threatening even as they boarded their plane. The chatter around them was excited and anxious and the atmosphere around them pulled her nerves even tighter.</p><p>
  <em>I want him to want to stay with me.</em>
</p><p>The truth was quiet in her mind, almost ashamed of its own existence, but it was true. Diane had been hoping they could keep in touch before she’d remembered her soulmark and realised it must have been Nick. Her self-esteem was a fragile thing when it came to relationships, but the tentative idea that Nick might be interested in her was just taking hold when the soulmarks had changed everything. Her realisation of the change they’d already wrought shattered her fledgling confidence, and she was back to despairing at the cruel twist fate had dealt them both.</p><p>Diane sat beside Nick, barely seeing their surroundings as they settled in for the flight back to Dallas. Her tears were breathtakingly close, and the kind smile of the flight attendant was enough to break the dam. She blinked, turning her head towards the window though she couldn’t see anything. Her heart was racing now, and she fought to keep her breathing fairly steady.</p><p>“Diane?”</p><p>Nick’s voice beside her was quiet enough for her to pretend she hadn’t heard him.</p><p>“Your heart’s beating really fast,” Nick said. The sentence was so unexpected Diane spun towards him in confusion. He was turned towards her, eyes careful as he waited for her reaction. She could feel her mouth hanging open as she waited for him to explain.</p><p>“Do you feel the connection?” he asked. “That kind of…pull. Towards…each other.”</p><p>She nodded. Did he know something about it?</p><p>“It’s common,” he said. “Well, as common as anything about soulmarks. But it connects…people. Pulls in the direction of the other person, stronger if they’re further apart. And the rhythm is the same as the other person’s heartbeat.”</p><p>Diane blinked at him. A lot of questions occurred to her, not the least of which was <em>what happens if one person lives on a different continent?</em> She noticed that he’d avoided pronouns, too. Talking about people in general rather than the two of them. The consideration was so very <em>Nick</em>, she thought to herself.</p><p>“Oh,” she said, knowing he expected some kind of response.</p><p>“And now I can see you’re crying,” Nick said quietly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”</p><p>“You didn’t,” Diane said immediately. “It’s just…” she waved one hand, her throat closing with emotion before she could explain further.</p><p>Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, and she didn’t bother to try and hide them now. She could feel her heart speeding up again, and impulsively reached for the sensation of Nick inside her. She could feel the rhythm, slower than hers, and she concentrated on it, trying to match hers to his. It helped; she could feel herself grow calmer. Something told her touch would help, so she reached for Nick’s hand, still concentrating on the pulse in her chest. She closed her eyes, trying to visualise it; it slowly came to her as a ball of pure white, expanding and contracting with each beat. It felt calming, and with effort she tried to expand it, teasing it out so it might have a greater effect. It was difficult, but it worked; the ball of white was definitely bigger when she opened her eyes, and she felt calmer. Perhaps it would take some time before she really learned how it worked.</p><p>As she registered what was happening around her Diane realised she was still holding Nick’s hand.</p><p>“Sorry,” she murmured, fumbling to extract her hand from his.</p><p>“What were you doing?” Nick asked curiously. He didn’t seem too worried about their joined hands, though he withdrew his when she resettled hers on her lap.</p><p>“Slowing my heartrate,” Diane said. "Or trying to."</p><p>“I could feel that,” Nick said. “And…you seemed calmer. After you took my hand.”</p><p>“You could feel that?” Diane asked, astonished.</p><p>Nick frowned. “Yes,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to pry, but I was…aware of you concentrating. And I could feel your heartrate, of course.”</p><p>Diane opened her mouth, then closed it, wondering how to explain. “I was experimenting,” she said in the end. Details were complicated. “With the connection.” She realised suddenly that it might be considered rude. “I’m sorry, should I have asked?”</p><p>“No,” Nick said. “I’ve never even met someone with…this. I have no idea what the rules are.” He tried for a smile. “Perhaps we can make up our own rules.”</p><p>It was supposed to be reassuring, but it just reminded Diane they hadn’t talked about what came after this flight.</p><p>“Yes,” she said when it became apparent he was waiting for a reply.</p><p>“I wonder if other people can feel each other’s emotions?” Nick wondered. “Or if they can influence each other? Their emotions, or heartrate maybe.”</p><p>Diane gave him a tight smile. For all his interest in what was happening between them, she still didn’t know if Nick’s questions were theoretical or not. What was the point in having this conversation if they were going to end up so far apart?</p><p>“Did it help what you were doing? When you held my hand?” Nick asked her, his brain obviously still mulling over questions about their connection.</p><p>“I don’t know,” Diane said. “I haven’t tried it before.”</p><p>Nick nodded. “It makes sense that contact would strengthen it,” he murmured to himself.</p><p>“I wonder how distance affects the connection,” Diane replied without thinking.</p><p>Nick frowned, obviously considering it from an academic point of view. “Well, the pull gets stronger if you’re further apart,” he said seriously. “I learned that at school, I think. But I don’t remember ever hearing anything about sensing emotions or affecting each other at all.”</p><p>Diane nodded, not willing to pursue the conversation again. She turned back to the window, effectively ending their conversation. From what she could tell, Nick didn’t even realise she was alluding to their imminent separation. With a sigh, she wondered how much longer it would be until they landed in Dallas.</p><p>She was so deep in her thoughts that when Nick’s arm landed around her shoulders, Diane froze. What was he doing? Before she could wonder for more than a second, she thought to reach for his pulse and realised to her astonishment it was racing fast. Was he nervous?</p><p>Turning, Diane looked at him. He didn’t speak, but his eyes met hers and she couldn’t read his expression.</p><p>“What?” she asked.</p><p>“I have the impression I’ve done something to upset you,” Nick said carefully. “And I have no idea what it is.”</p><p>Diane blinked. “You haven’t,” she said.</p><p>“I know this is a lot to process,” Nick said, and she could feel his heartrate ramp up before he spoke again. “I don’t want you to feel like we have to pursue this, if you’d rather not.”</p><p>“What?” Diane whispered. He thought she wasn’t interested? “Why would you think that?”</p><p>Nick looked at her in surprise. “We’ve barely spoken since we left the lookout,” he said. “And you were crying, and you wondered how distance would affect us.”</p><p>Was he serious? Diane didn’t even know where to begin. “I didn’t think you wanted to,” she took a deep breath and borrowed his turn of phrase, “pursue this.”</p><p>“What?” Nick echoed her surprise.</p><p>“You covered your mark before the people at the lookout could see,” she said. “And I know I haven’t said much…neither have you.”</p><p>Nick’s eyes softened, and a slow smile came across his face. “We’re quite foolish, aren’t we?” he said. He eased his arm from around Diane and took her hand instead. “I think we should talk,” he said. “Clearly, so there’s no misunderstandings.”</p><p>She swallowed hard and curled her fingers around his. “Okay.”</p><p>“So, from the beginning,” Nick said with a nervous smile. “My arm was itchy on the plane, but I didn’t really think about what it meant until I saw the start of the mark. I realised it must be you on the day we went up to the Dover Fault.”</p><p>“Me too,” Diane whispered.</p><p>“I was hoping we might keep in touch after all this,” Nick said. “Before I realised the mark meant we were connected. And I figured the mark put it beyond question that we would stay in touch. I didn’t realise the connection would be so strong.”</p><p>Diane nodded, Nick’s slightly garbled explanation somehow making sense. “When we didn’t talk, after the lookout,” she said, feeling her face heat at the admission, “I thought you were disappointed. Wanting to figure out how to not have to do it.”</p><p>“No,” Nick said. “I was worried about you. You seemed to withdraw after that.”</p><p>“Lost in my own worries,” Diane admitted. She took a deep breath. “I didn’t want you to feel like you had to…stay because of the marks.”</p><p>Nick nodded, understanding. “I don’t know how much of a choice we’ll have,” he said. “With the connection. I mean,” and he looked quite anxious, “it might be dangerous for one of us to get on a plane if we don’t know what the effect will be. We might have to test it with something less dramatic.”</p><p>Diane nodded, not entirely sure what Nick was saying. “Are you…what are you saying?”</p><p>Nick shrugged a little helplessly. “I have no idea if there’s anything we can do to test it?” he said. “But in the short term, we’ll have to figure out a way to be more or less in the same place, I think. At least while we see what happens with more distance. Maybe if one of us stays in one spot and the other drives?”</p><p>Diane nodded again. “Okay,” she said faintly. The questions she’d had about the practicalities of this situation came flooding back. “Wait, are we talking Dallas or London?”</p><p>Nick stared at her. “You look worried,” he said, not answering her question.</p><p>“I am,” she whispered. Nick was looking at her with affection, and for a moment she thought he might be going to kiss her. She knew her heartrate leapt again, and there was no point trying to hide it. Nick’s eyes softened, and he spoke quietly.</p><p>“If we can put aside the practical for a moment,” Nick asked, and Diane felt his heartrate accelerate again, “I’d thought about what I would have said if we’d made it to the plane without talking about whether we might keep in touch.”</p><p>“You did?” Diane replied. Keeping up with this conversation was challenging, especially with her hand resting in Nick’s.</p><p>Nick paused, his thumb rubbing the back of Diane’s hand. “Actually, I had more than one scenario,” he said apologetically, and Diane couldn’t keep the fond amusement from her voice.</p><p>“Of course you did,” she said with a smile.</p><p>“Considering the current circumstances,” he said, “I might…I mean I thought…there were a few, ideas I was thinking, depending on how we both might have…”</p><p>Diane smiled again, her heart leaping at the affection she felt for him. She wasn’t surprised when Nick’s free hand rose to her temple, his fingers lingering down the curve of her cheek as he tucked her hair behind her ear. Her heart thumped, and realising Nick would be able to feel it pushed it to accelerate again. His was fast too; it was strange, not having to hide it, and knowing how Nick’s body was reacting. The smile faded as her suspicion was confirmed. Nick was moving closer, his eyes flicking down to her mouth half a second before he kissed her.</p><p>All the questions and concerns in her head melted gently away with the stroke of his mouth on hers. She couldn’t be sure if it was their soulbond or not, but the gentle bursts of joy in her chest were wonderful, and she leaned into it, chasing the sensation. The pulsing ball broke into pieces, minuscule shards breaking out to soar through her body, carrying the sense of Nick to every corner of her being. His pulse rang through her blood, melding with her own until she couldn’t tell where his ended and hers began.</p><p>Though it largely overwhelmed her, Diane wondered if Nick felt the same. If it was their bond, he’d be experiencing the same, but Diane wasn’t going to stop to find out. She raised her hand to the back of his neck, feeling the hitch in his breathing as her fingers brushed his skin. Nick filled her senses and Diane drank him in, warm and golden in her blood.</p><p>When they finally eased away, Diane felt drunk with Nick’s presence. She still couldn’t differentiate their heartbeats, both strong and fast in her chest. Her sense of Nick had expanded now, and she knew with certainty she would not be able to live so far from him. Their bond was strong, far stronger than she'd anticipated; how could anyone turn away from this?</p><p>“Wow,” Nick whispered hoarsely. His eyes were on hers, wide and searching.</p><p>
  <em>He really is adorable.</em>
</p><p>Diane swallowed and nodded. Their heads were close enough that her hair brushed his face and he flinched, making a face at the soft touch. She pulled back, but Nick’s hand on her cheek stopped her moving far. </p><p>“Tickles,” he murmured, and the intense moment broke with his smile.</p><p>“Sorry,” she replied, shivering as he tucked the errant lock behind her ear.</p><p>“It’s fine,” he said. “I’ll have to get used to it, I think.”</p><p>“You will?” Diane asked. She wouldn’t have thought it was possible for her to be more joyful, and yet what Nick was implying…</p><p>“It’s not common, but I’ve heard people might be able to emigrate more easily if soulmarks are involved,” Nick murmured. His eyes had softened as he fixed her hair and now a slight smile crossed his lips. “And my company has an office in Dallas.”</p><p>Diane blinked. She bit back her immediate response (“Really?”) and instead offered a weak, “Okay,” instead.</p><p>“Really?” Nick asked in surprise.</p><p>“Yes,” Diane said. “What else would I say?”</p><p>“Well, I don’t expect-” Nick began, but she cut him off.</p><p>“If you felt what I did,” Diane started, the heat in her face growing, “what other response could there be?”</p><p>“I think I did,” Nick said, leaning in to kiss her again. It was far too brief, and she had to concentrate to process his next words. “And I don’t intend to let it go.”</p><p>“Me either,” Diane breathed, pulling him in for another kiss.</p>
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